Who’s Grant Shapps? The new defence secretary whose appointment has ruffled feathers

Grant Shapps has been appointed the brand new defence secretary following the anticipated resignation of Ben Wallace.

The selection of substitute has ruffled some feathers given his lack of army expertise, although he’s extensively seen as one of many higher communicators in authorities.

The Welwyn Hatfield MP, 54, is not any stranger to cupboard, having beforehand led the vitality safety and web zero division and held the posts of transport secretary and residential secretary.

However, this veteran of presidency has a barely completely different background to lots of his contemporaries on the prime of the Conservative Party.

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Unlike lots of his Tory colleagues, he isn’t a product of a public college and a prime college. He was educated at Watford Grammar School and Manchester Polytechnic.

Halfway by his diploma whereas within the US he practically died in a automotive crash and was in a coma for nearly every week, earlier than he finally recovered.

Ten years later he was recognized with Hodgkin lymphoma, present process each chemotherapy and radiotherapy, however was efficiently handled.

Born in Hertfordshire, Mr Shapps has two musical relations – a brother, Andre Shapps, who performed keyboard for the post-punk band Big Audio Dynamite, and a cousin, Mick Jones, who was a founding member of The Clash.

While his household leaned in direction of music, the married father-of-three had ambitions to turn into a politician from a younger age, turning into nationwide president of the Jewish youth organisation BBYO as a teen.

In his early 20s, he arrange a advertising and marketing and printing enterprise earlier than contesting his first parliamentary seat in 1997.

He finally ousted Labour’s Melanie Johnson in 2005 to turn into MP for Welwyn Hatfield, a seat he has held ever since.

Mr Shapps rose by the ranks rapidly, turning into vice celebration chair the identical yr he was elected and later turning into celebration co-chair. He has additionally served as housing minister and minister with out portfolio.

However his chequered profession has not been with out controversy.

Mr Shapps hit a bump within the highway in the course of the 2015 common election marketing campaign when he was accused of anonymously enhancing his personal entry and people of different Conservative politicians on Wikipedia.

Then-prime minister David Cameron stood by him whereas Mr Shapps referred to as the allegations “bonkers”, and Wikipedia later discovered no definitive proof linking him to the account used to amend the entries.

But the harm was accomplished and Mr Shapps was eliminated as celebration chairman and made a minister on the Department for International Development – a transfer extensively seen as a demotion.

Read extra: Ben Wallace: ‘It’s been an extended slog… I’m blissful to go’

He was pressured to resign from the put up after simply six months when it was alleged that he had been warned about bullying amongst younger celebration activists virtually a yr earlier than 21-year-old Elliott Johnson took his personal life.

Mr Shapps denied being knowledgeable about any allegations of bullying, sexual abuse or blackmail, however give up his put up saying that “responsibility should rest somewhere”.

Just months earlier than the Wikipedia scandal, Mr Shapps was additionally accused of getting breached the codes of conduct for ministers and MPs when it was revealed he held a second job after getting into parliament.

He was uncovered as having continued working as a marketer of get-rich-quick schemes below the pseudonym Michael Green.

Mr Shapps was a Remainer within the EU referendum however has since described himself as a “Brexit moderate” who desires to make leaving the European Union work.

He returned to the backbenchers below the Theresa May administration, when he was concerned in a coup to oust her as prime minister.

After she finally resigned in 2019 he backed Boris Johnson within the management contest and was rewarded for his loyalty with a put up as transport secretary.

It was seen as a becoming function for Mr Shapps – a airplane fanatic and certified pilot who as soon as flew to a BBC panel recording in his personal personal jet.

Mr Shapps’ tenure within the transport division was broadly outlined by the response to the COVID pandemic and the following airport chaos as journey resumed.

He additionally confronted criticism for failing to interact with unions over industrial motion whereas starring in weird movies to advertise the railways.

But Mr Shapps was seen as a dependable public performer and infrequently despatched out to defend the federal government on the airwaves in the course of the many crises that engulfed the Johnson administration.

Mr Shapps was sacked from the cupboard by Liz Truss after backing Rishi Sunak within the management race – however made a rare comeback simply six weeks later when he was drafted into change Suella Braverman as residence secretary.

The appointment raised eyebrows given Mr Shapps had been closely crucial of her tax plans, branding them politically “tin-eared”.

Seen as a sharp-elbowed plotter, he’s additionally mentioned to have recorded Tory colleagues’ doubts about Ms Truss in a working spreadsheet.

As it occurred Mr Shapps was residence secretary for lower than every week, with the Truss premiership collapsing in file time.

When Rishi Sunak took over, he was made enterprise and vitality secretary and when that division cut up, he turned head of the vitality and web zero division.

His new put up in defence comes in opposition to a backdrop of conflict in Europe and along with his predecessor warning the world will turn into extra insecure and unstable.

Unlike Mr Wallace, he has no army expertise and shall be seen as having huge footwear to fill.